Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

The Yankees are coming

If you have a baseball pulse and you have the slightest bit of interest in the Red Sox and/or the Yankees, it simply does not get any better than this. Five games in one weekend between two epic rivals, starting with Friday’s doubleheader at Fenway. The American League East race is no more settled now than it was on Opening Day.

Both teams have weathered all kinds of adversity this season. The Yankees without mashers Sheffield and Matsui; The Red Sox, of late, playing without three core players in Varitek, Nixon and Wakefield. Yet here they are, just 1 1/2 games apart. There’s always something with these teams, new wrinkles each year.

Friday is kind of a mess with Jason Johnson going against Wang (seemingly a mismatch for the Red Sox) and Lester going against Ponson (possibly a mismatch for the Yankees). So the way this rivalry goes, i could easily see the Red Sox winning Game 1 and the Yankees taking the nightcap. Shouldn’t you always expect the unexpected with these teams?

Saturday’s matchup is an absolute beaut when you consider the storyline. Beckett and Randy Johnson, two former World Series MVPs who have been perplexingly inconsistent this season. In particular, this start is HUGE for Beckett. His less than stellar performances have been the talk of the town lately and here is his chance to stop that talk.

From a purist’s standpoint, Sunday night’s matchup is the best of the series. Schilling and Mussina. Each team sends their battle-tested ace to the mound. That is going to be a baseball game right there.

Monday, we finish with Wells (always entertaining to see him face the Yankees) and Lidle (joining the rivalry for the first time).

628 Comments

Vince lets get one thing straight. This is nothing even close to a war and will never be anything close to war. I can not stand when anyone wants to refer to BASEBALL or any other SPORT as a WAR. I am as big a red sox fan as anyone, but let’s not be thrwoing around war, battle, comments because at the end of the day/series, no one is dying from a GAME. So lets enjoy the games, while still remembering thats all they are.

Not completely positive you caught on to the whole, figuratively speaking aspect of that post, but fair enough.

Everyone, I stand corrected, this is a dainty matchup between two teams that show strong dislike for each other on the world’s biggest stage while millions view a matchup between two squadrons of 9 players each with help from a bullpen and bench take each other on in Boston Massachusetts. Be sure to enjoy the game.

oh and ps: at the end of the five game television entertainment set of matchups, nobody will have any ill feelings towards anybody else personally because as far as sports go, this is not a war, nothing is a war, except actual war, hence why there has never been a card game called “war” and grady little never had a postgame interview during the playoffs.

sorry in hindsight that seemed kind of rude and mean, I’m sorry ashley, i’m in an argument at the moment with a friend, i didn’t mean to come across as arrogant and harsh, I simply meant war does not necessarily always have to mean “death”. But i stick by if i offended u or anybody else, i’m sorry

OK. Seeing as I am finishing college and have had to help bury five friends to to a REAL war. I find it ridiculous to consider baseball or any sport for that matter a “war.” Its a rivalry nothing more, nothing less and in the grand scheme it is a game. I love how you still try and defend it as a war too, next time someone dies because of the outcome of the game let me know.

All i’m saying is if you actually look at the definition of the word “war” it does not just mean the sense you consider it, which obviously brings you grief. There are multiple definitions, i’m using it in the rivalry sense, like I said, if it bothers you, i’m sorry, but I did not use the term incorrectly

Sometimes I get riled up about that subject Vince, and no one really means anything bad about it, but it is just a very sensitive topic for me. I proly shouldnt have even posted anything and just left. I wasnt trying to preach or say your using bad terms. It is done every other day on Sportscenter, but it just gets to me.

No reason to apologize, you said your peace, I said mine, nobody is going to blame you for getting riled up or upset about a topic that has had that sort of effect on you. Just for me, it has been common terminology to describe this rivalry, it would be one thing if I went onto a political blog where they were discussing a true definition 1 version of war and i said “speaking of war, i can’t wait for the yankees redsox series” but this was a baseball blog and I was simply “rallying the fans”

By the way.. I would hope, for the duration of this series as it is goign to be high tension and emotional, that we all try to be civil to our respective enemies as possible. Watch ourselves mroe than usual.

Nothign wrong with saying “Yankees *****”, but lets not have any personal attacks this weekend, hmm?

Here we go again. Another series in the most exciting sports rivalry in history. I get very nervous and anxious during these series. You never know what’s going to happen. I’m sure that the adrenaline that the players feel is far greater than what we feel!!
I’m scared about Johnson pitching today. And I assume he’ll be gone after today no matter the outcome. I certainly hope that he pitches well, and goes out on a positive note!! He just doesn’t seem to be a fit with the Sox.

Although taking 5 from the Yankee’s would be WONDERFUL I am going to be a bit more realistic, and say Sox take it 3-2.

I’m glad about the “sport-v-war” discussion. It occured to me a while ago that if we could somehow get world leaders to agree on the right sport, we could just use that to settle our differences. Not to sound like John Lennon or something…

I don’t know what to think about the Tigers series. They are a great young team, but I thought the way the Sox stacked up against them was uber-disappointing, almost akin to the Tampa Bay/KC trip in terms of disappointment. Things look bleak from where I’m sitting, and we can only hope the Yankees will bring out the old-timey, win-at-all-costs baseball squad we haven’t seen for months.

I read your email Vince (like 30 minutes ago), but I was on the phone with my mom trying to get her MLB radio to work (so she could listen to the game at work). She couldn’t remember her password, so I just let her use mine (hey, we can both listen, so I didn’t mind). She’s so goofy sometimes.

hinske is a yankee killer, i wouldn’t be surprised if that eliminated all the other competition. I always get worried about going on planes, not because i fear flying but because i fear missing my flight…esp when i have to check baggage of which I will have a lot this time haha

I’m all twitchy… I have to work from 4-12 so I’ll miss the second game and the end of this on… I’ll only have Fox Sports Radio with its periodic score reports (every 20 mins I think)… unless today is a Barnstormers (local team) game and then they hardly hever update us on the majors.

Personally I think Johnson has looked good all day. Two groundball hits in the first. 1 bad pitch to Damon and just a hard-nosed at bat by Abreu. Im pleased with his stuff, but unfortunately his pitch count is way up.

Evening all from the UK. Initial impressions are OK. If we can get the pitch count up on Wang, the Yankess bull pen is there for the taking after last 2 games with the Os. Forecast a high scoring win for the Mighty Sox.

Had an extended lunch break to watch the first couple of innings. Man, it was a rough top half, but Johnson made some decent pitches to get out of hit. He hung a pitch that A-Rod fouled off that if anyone else was up there could have been deposited over the monster.
Need to break through for a couple.

edan the only issue with ur theory is the yankees did not use proctor farnsworth or rivera last night, their 3 best pitchers….if this is a close game late, the yankee bullpen wouldn’t be assumed to blow it, though obv anything is possible

lol it’s funny how both fanbases expect the worst in situtions like that. I completely expected a close game and possibly a loss from this game and a split of the dh, i mean, i want johnson to be hammered, but that would be too predictable

Thank God Cano swung at the 1st pitch. Full count to A-Rod and full count to Posada. Johnson might have been able to go 6 or 7, but with this pitch count, that might be stretching it. If, and that’s a big if, he gets a quick 5th, we might get another inning out of him which would be a **** of a lot more than I expected.
Let’s break it open. Let’s see if Hinske can get another double to start it off.

NO offense Vince, but it was off Jason Johnson. You don’t need to be clutch to get a hit off this guy, all you need is a pulse.
How bad is it when you are actually happy your pitcher gets you to the 5th inning?

that’s the thing ashley, it isn’t really pitching well when you are at 100 pitches before the 5th is over.
He got out of jams, but he created a mess for the pen and for the inning.

But, we knew this was going to happen today, so to get upset over this would be silly. Let’s just hope Lester holds them down tonight. Plus, if Snyder can get out of this with us only down 3, we still have 5 innings to get back in it.

The fact remains, Jason Johnson is a terrible pitcher and should be cut or sent down immediately after the game.

Well like i was saying earlier you cant ask more from a groundball pitcher buit to throw ground balls. It just so happened that 3 or 4 of those groundballs got through and got his pitch count up early.

That’s the thing. You know you are a bad pitcher when we are impressed over 4 1/3 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks and close to 100 pitches. I know what you’re saying about getting out of the 1st and working around the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, but again, it is what we all expected, so we can’t really complain.

lol, my husband just called and said, “yeah, I’m looking for a Red Sox fan.” I said, “that’s me!” He said, “you’re in a good mood. I take it you’re not watching the game.” I said, yes I am. Mom and I just decided that as soon as we found out who was pitching, it could be a lost game, so why get mad about it. He just laughed. Just thought I’d share. :) He’s a Yankees fan, for those of you who don’t know.

Agree about the pitching here. You hate to use the guys that you depend on to hold a lead when you are down 5.
I hate to say it, but if the Sox don’t score here, I say put in Tavarez and let him mop up and save everyone useful.

Man, take away Loretta and Hinske and we look terrible at the plate.
Again, it seems we all came into the game knowing it was going to be real tough to win this one, so get it out of their system and come out blazing tonight. If they don’t pounce on Ponson though, then the Nation can be upset.

wow, guess we were on the same page muffin.
OK, now I’m pissed. Why is Delcarmen still in the game? Granted, he might not be able to pitch tonight because he worked today, but if throws any number of pitches this inning, he won’t be good to go tomorrow. I know Foulke is coming back, but he ***** and we don’t want him in a close game.

Haha, yeah we are on the same page..I just don’t understand why our only solid middle relief man is being used when we are down 5 runs. That makes absolutely no sense at all. I understand the depth of this team *****, but use what you have ot your advantage. We have a 3 man bullpen. Those guys arent used when we are down by 5. If the sox don’t jump on Ponson tonight Ima say this season is over. If they get slapped around today and don’t have the fire to rock a AAA pitcher, what does that say about the attitude of the team

I didn’t see it, but I can imagine how overpowered A-Gon looked. He is streaky man. But when I saw it was 0-2, I couldn’t help but think, there is no way he is getting this run home.
No doubt about Coco. I don’t think he likes the number 300. Every time he gets within 20 points of hit, he runs away in a hurry to the tune of 0-10 or so.

What’s the over/under on the Seanez implosion here in the 9th?? I’m looking at 3.
Classy move by Cano stealing 2nd up by 5. I really like him as a player, but I just lost a whole lot of respect after seeing that. Totally uncalled for.

Especially with Seanez on the mound. They should know they are going to get at least 3 here. I wouldn’t be suprised if Cano gets plunked tonight.

i had forgotten manny was out of the game, i don’t know i don’t really follow baseball unwritten rules like that and I can honestly say if the sox did it to the yankees I wouldn’t get mad, but i can see why u are, in hindsight it didn’t matter much anyway

Hisnke just guaranteed that his great day is tarnished. That was uncalled for.

And I agree that Cano gets beaned tonight and the brawl will happen when Beckett runs some heat up and in and Johnson retaliates.

This was a pathetic beginning to this weekend. The sox deserved this loss. You play like this, you deserve to get embarrased at home. This is the Pennent race in the AL east, there is NO room for error

Well, I had my husband post the Let’s Go cheer earlier, I was away from the computer and unable to post.

I figured that we would lose this game but I didn’t count on this. Jason Johnson had better hope that he’s gone after this!!! He’ll be drawn and 1/4’d!! We’ve already tapped into the bullpen pretty good, and it’s just game 1.

ok. Changes to the line up for tonight must be Coco benched with Willie Mo in batting 7. Dougie in for Lopez. Youk lead off and Hinkse number 2. Loretta to 5 and Lowell 6. Finally DONT PITCH TAVAREZ!!!!!!!

Good deal. Hey, is it just me, or have things been going south since Youk was taken off of lead-off? Of course, a lot of other things have happened of late–the injuries…don’t remind me. What was with putting Coco on lead off at long last? Is Tito looking long term to see if he’s going to keep the Crispy Critter or get rid of him?

So much for second-guessing. I just remember things being better with Youk leading off.

we really need to jump out in this game early and often. From what I’ve read about Ponson, he is hittable. Jon (or Jonathan as ESPN insisted upon calling him this afternoon, and WE know we have ONLY ! JONATHAN!!! (Jon-Bon Papelbon!!!))Lester has the ability to have a good game and is due. We really need the bats this game. They seemed more than a LITTLE sleepy this afternoon. Hopefully the Yankees batting arms are a little worn by now. I know that I’m just a rah-rah poster but… LET’S GO REDSOX, LET’S GO!!!
I’m sitting here in front of the computer at the ready waiting for the game. I have my Yankee dolls with the color co-ordinated pins all lined up and ready to go, Hey RedSox, I’ll stick it to them if YOU WILL!!!

Actually, if I followed Damon’s story this year – and I’m just quoting what I heard – the Sox treated Damon much like the Yanks treated Petitte… so I can’t blame Damon the same way I can’t blame Petitte.

If you run the numbers of Damon when he was Coco’s age, but for steals Coco’s career numbers are much better. But of course Damon’s body of work since that time has been outstanding. But from a potential stand point Coco’s got him

Luke, I agree. Damon wanted alot of money. Coco is like 2-3 mill a year. You can take that money and do something with it. Plus, I think Jd will have good years in 06 (obviously he just tied his career hi in homeruns) and 07 but wait until 08 and on.

there are some Yankee fans who are not gonna like that comment. They have been blogging hard that the yankees have the 17 rated farm system in MLB. That the farm system is in good shape. I never jumped in the discussion b/c I don’t know.

Plus, I realy don’t care about prospects not on the big club. I don’t know if you guys remember but bagwell and schilling were once Red Sox propsepcts. Both traded in 88 and 90 so we could be swept by Oakland. My thought is that the yankees will trade prospects when needed.

As a Yankee fan, I will defend my team, but I’m also not stupid to know the difference between a “decent” farm system and a good one and our’s is decent at best. Only because we have 2 maybe 3 prospects that I believe will thrive in the bigs, not just become the next Marlins bench player. I know I’ll get some flak from some other Yank fans, but I’m being realistic here.

If Damon was on a team like the A’s or Royals – his ex’s – his numbers would not be this high. He’s overrated, but at the same time, able to excel in great environments. His numbers are similar to 04 this season, both times in great lineups.

Look I have major issues with damon and him being a yankee. But you gotta admit one could argue he is the best lead off hitter since R. henderson. i mean to get 15-20 homeruns and 75 to 90 RBIs out of the lead off spot, that is good stuff. Would he wither on a team 20 games out? maybe, but i don’t think so.

I take no pleasure in voicing my teams weaknesses – but let’s be real here – the Yanks’ farm system was decimated (by George Steinbummer) and only until this year have we been able to keep anyone.

Another fact – the ONLY reason we got Abreu was because we could take on ALL of his salary. The Sox had a chance but wanted to take all but $10 mil. Did it pay off, i think so, but truth is – deep pockets help us out this year. I’m not going to deny that.

In 00 damon was with kansas city. he had 16 hr and 88 Rbis (i belive maybe 85) he aslo stole 46. help me out yankee fans has jeter always led off, or was he there b/c your didn’t have a lead off man. That guy should be batting with me on base

it is evident even in the safe confines of a redsox blog that u know little to nothing about baseball luke britt, perhaps reading past posts by other people on ur own blog would benefit u from looking stupid in the future

So far this year on this blgog we have analyzed ortiz vs. A-rod, Ortiz vs. Jeter, and Ortiz vs. Damon..Ortiz is an amazing player, but comparing a Power hitter to a leadoff man is not even logical in the first place

Look, no one guy can “carry” a team. We all should agree to that. But one guy can carry a team over a month or so. See Beltran in 04. See Yaz in 67. See Reggie in 78, and 77 i suppose. Ortiz sees a lot more pitches with many batting behind him, no doubt. So did gherig with ruth behind him. I’m not trail blazing here.

I said you should be hit, not that I would hit u. Learn how to read, maybe you would figure out there is defense in baseball, so someone who doesn’t play it can’t carry a team, not to mention the whole 9 players thing and your complete lack of knowledge on the yankee franchise. Perhaps the least trace of support for your opinion would go a long way.

if you ment ortiz could carry a team over a few weeks you should have said that. unless someone on here has esp (which i doubt) no one knows what you mean. you should at least give some thought to want you are posting before you do.

connor I don’t even think with a vivid imagination and time watching my family get tortured I can come within the same league of daniel fagan or anything he represents. I simply don’t tolerate blind hatred/utter stupidity, if a yankee fan did that about the redsox I would lose all respect and common decensy for them too

Vince, you’re not even close to that fagan. I’ve read your posts over the months your definitely consistent with your comments which is nice. i’m not gonna defend luke, that’s his fight, but i really don’t think he ment that one player could carry a team over one year, at least i hope he didn’t

i would sincerely hope the same connor. I don’t have any personal issues with anyone and maybe this is not even my place to be questioning people’s integrity, but rather than people make empty statements like “the yankees don’t need a farm” (implying they buy all their players) and “the redsox are built for the future, the yankees are build for now” (again, no knowledge of the farm team or cabrera, cano, jeter, a rod, wilson, farnsworth, dotel, proctor, wang or abreu’s age)
then topping it off with saying ortiz can carry an entire team as a reason he is the mvp they would be better off saying nothing at all

no vince it was just a joke. nothing intended, no implication ment to be made. You’re a regular and I thought you would get the joke b/c we all lived through that physco Be that as it may, take it as you wish.

I said both the sox and yankees were built for the now more so than the future. I hope you would agree. Both teams are always in a playoff race. They do anything they can to win this season, including trading prospects.

The “Yankees don’t need a farm” comment was a jab, but also a compliment. They are an incredible team – second best in MLB.

I think both teams barring FO mental incapacity are built for now and the future for a very long time (at least the next 5 years). I apologize if those were your intentions on the comments, just realize there truly are people that believe in the things you said, and those people should truly be hit, cyber or otherwise

lol when you read what he used to say, did you ever get the feeling he had like a belt of bullets around his torso and two machine guns strapped to his back? That dude was so insane that it became comical. Plus when he starts telling you online that you have small genitals, you can’t help but really stop caring

just a out of the blue question here – I’m watching on MLB Gameday and everytime there’s a break in the innings, they show a guy sliding into second – and I swear it looks like Papi… can anyone confirm this??

Very long. I think he is here. I think he’s under a different name. I don’t sweat him. I spent 4 years as a prosecutor in chicago going against a lot of gang stuff. They had my home address and I had a Chicago cop outside for a couple of weeks. So bring him on.

Haha, well he told vince he had small everything…it was ridiculous..who the heck brings up sex life on a baseball blog? it was stupid..plus his posts were like Novels..so halfway through I would get sick of all the **** he had to say..nothing baseball really ever came out of his mouth..it was sad

is it me or do the red sox pitcher totally miss the concept of walks? I gotta check out the numbers so this is just from the lip, but with the exception of Schilling, they walk so many guys. Maybe it is just that they walk them in such big spots. frustrating

Do you know what stat i can’t stand? The stat of a guys production with bases loaded. Chances are if the base are loaded the pitcher is struggling. So everyone should have a good stats. It just means nothing to me. Does it mean they are clutch? Maybe with two outs.

theres no one reliable in the pen except papelbon. timlin is proving that hes only and washed up hansen ***** delcarmen has been incosistant. ez bros (enough said) foulke (enough said). what the **** did they do with breslow?

i want to know what the **** we have against finishing off the final out without giving up a million runs. Anyone else notice our problem with that? We can do perfectly, until it comes time to get the third out. Then it’s like we forget how to play baseball.

we put in a pitcher (to start the first game in the most important series of the last part of the year) who is going to be released/fired after the game? That pretty much sums up the state of red sox pitching! Where the **** is the boy genius, Theo Epstein, now? Has he been on vacation? Does he think, we will be content to wait 80+ years for another world series championship? We have the offense…we have the defense… where is the pitching?

well, i’m off to start prepping for my flight, won’t be on for the game or anytime after it until late late at night. Luke, no hard feelings, sorry for jumping on you pretty hard last night, connor, ryan, muffin (sorry i can never seem to remember ur name….philip?) thank you for calming me. Jen, I hope to see an email that I’ll respond to, ellen, stay strong, i have no doubt you guys will come out and play really pissed off, hopefully beckett considers this his calling and overthrows fastballs that get taken out of fenway.

Hey all, So we had a really crappy Friday, are we sure it wasn’t really Friday the 13th???
We’ve been down before, and we’ll be down again BUT we can come out of this. I know we had a different team at the time but in 2004 we were down, we found a way to do it!!! The team needs to find a way to pull it together quick!!!

Just about an hour til 1st pitch, so I’m going to go try to get some sun. Wasn’t much there while I was mowing the lawn this morning.

I’ll be back for the game!!!

Let’s Go RedSox Let’s Go!!!

Vince, you probrably won’t read this til later, but I hope you have a safe flight. God Speed!!!

What’s up with walking in the runs???? First Beckett, now IImanny??
I don’t know about y’all but to me, it’s like the last 28 hours someone put a tiny pin hole in a balloon, and the air is just slowly leaking out, everything seems to be deflating. Except my loyalty to the Sox. I still think we can do this!!!!

One thing is for sure… anybody associated with our pitching staff has to be FIRED as soon as possible. We should advertise… “Come to the Redsox and see your ERA inflate by 2 or more runs… Guarranteed!” I have never been more embarressed of a Redsox team before. Good thing we have great defense… Really helps when you walk 10 guys. Also really helped Johnson and Snyder… breaking ball pitchers who just needed a little D. Too bad we can’t put some fielders in the bullpen to catch the homers.

I’ll say it again for the 90th time. Our best pitcher amongst this bunch of losers can do nothing except sit and watch. The decision to not move Papelbon into the rotation early in the year was just another one of our horrible decisions. Papelbon will finish with about 70 innings… could have had 200+. That’s about 130 innings of Johnson, Snyder, and the rest of the jokers we have thrown out there. Maybe Francona needs to go? I’m sure he contributed heavily to this disaster in the making.

How the Sox can improve with 3 5th starters is beyond me. I still think Beckett and Lester have great potential, but they’ve been too terrible lately to justify having much hope in them (this season, anyway…).

After Schill and Paps, there’s no pitching. Even if we do by some miracle enter the postseason, we’ll get slaughtered… I’d rather have a 90-win season and hope that Theo realizes the need for a better team. I don’t want to start placing blame, but ultimately it falls on the FO to foresee these kinds of failures and try to rectify them. back-up plans are everything in baseball, since it’s probably the most unpredictable sport in the universe…

I think that Francona’s doing the best he can with the hand that he was dealth. The FO failed to bring him reliable pitchers, believing that the NL pitchers would survive in the AL. Alas, Theo’s theory turned out to completely wrong, which caused our demise this season… we need more AL pitchers, not leftovers from the inferior league…

Well Vince, once you read this, you should have had quite a field day with all the stats… Over 1000 pitches in these past 3 games, the last time the yankees score in double digits in a series in Fenway was 1927. etc etc…..
Great God Almighty, please help these RedSox, you are the only one at this point who can… But wait,don’t they say, “God helps those who help themselves”?? Well then he won’t be helping us, because it seems like they’ve given up and are already making plans for golf in the off season.. BUT!!!!

**** hath no fury like this RedSox fan scorned!!!! I REFUSE TO GIVE UP UNTIL IT IS ABSOLUTELY DONE!!!!! The Offense looked good in the 4-5 today, they gave the pitchers the bat/run support they needed, but the pitchers seemed intent on being like dog walkers, giving the Yaankees a break and not making them swing or run or anything else. Beckett looked horrible from 1st pitch, MannyII followed in his footsteps, Jermaine didn’t show his best, I thought that of all the pitchers, that Kyle Snyder looked the best. I think he should become a long reliever for Beckett, say about the 3RD or so.

And what’s with the way the guys are sliding into (or not) 2nd?? I saw at least 3 that gave up 2/3 of the way there. Gee don’t try to disrupt the throw to 1st base to try to break up the double play, Manny has done that more than once in the past 4-5 games or so.. DANMIT, YOU ARE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBASLL “PROFESSIONALS”!!! Start playing like it!!!!! Other wise, go ahead and make your vacation plans for October, because if you keep playing the way you have been, You’ll have nothing else on your calendar!!!

Well, I can’t say that I’m mad about the past 2 days. Just disappointed. I guess I should have seen this coming though…the Yankees made the right moves at the deadline and although they’ve had some bad injuries to deal with, their pitching has been relatively healthy.
This is the time of year when pitching wins games and although they can still get in the playoffs, I don’t see this pitching poor team doing much if/when they get there. Lets hope they prove me wrong.

These three baseball games are just that, GAMES. So far the Yankees have won and their Fans, some using the English language for the first time are elated.
However what these games illustrate is that both teams have poor pitching but good hitting. Both have had a season of injuries to key players. The injuries have hurt the Red Sox more.

The bright spot for the Red Sox is that the young arms being used will be stronger for next season. Experience is a good teacher and a series like this one is good training.I like our young arms and can see a bright future for an outstanding staff next season.

When you are planning ahead for a team that will be contending, as Fans, we must show some understanding for what management must face. You don’t sell off your future savings for this year’s spotlight. You develop your savings so you can be strong to win five years in a row.Have patience Red Sox Nation—our future is bright–look at the farm system–look at the team mix.

Let’s give credit to this year’s team for the effort on their part. Stop the whinning and show up at Fenway and be loud no mater what for the next two games. Fan Noise is an important motivator. Just do it! A loyal Red Sox Fan knows how to loose but always hopes for the win.

No excuses for the Sox this weekend. We just have not shown up for the long haul.

Now, I’m not pulling a Kaylee and going over to the dark side, but we have to give credit where it is due.

They had the bats long term; we did not!!

I thought that we could get by with Theo’s not having “done a deal” before deadline. I was dead wrong. Dead being what the arms in the bull pen are. And the starters for the most part are the same way.

You all know that I don’t point out and say negative things about Our Sox. My statements are not negative, just the plain, awful,bitter frickin truth!!

I’m truly hoping and praying to God and the RedSox Gods, that this gets turned around now!!!

But don’t forget, I still have not and will NOT GIVE UP until it’s over… And like Yogi says “it ain’t over, till it’s over”.

Goodnight Nationers.

ps, Vince I hope you had a good flight and arrived safely. We’ll see y’all in the a.m.!

lol i love when people say “the injuries have been harder on the redsox” yeah because you haven’t overcome adversity. Sorry but in 04 we lost 3 of our 5 pitchers and won the division, in 06 we lost 3 of our 9 starters most of the season, and yeah, no suprise bludgeoned you guys in this series, not even close so far and now it doesn’t matter, you already lost at fenway, own up to the fact you did nothing to improve your team don’t hide behind injuries because that is the last thing yankee fans will understand, even the ones “using english for the first time”, grow up.

it has been rough but i expect schilling to be the only one on ur staff not to tolerate this, we have worked counts and had hit after hit, i doubt schilling allows that….ellen, thank you for the conern, i landed happily and safely, i am back, but quite drunk, i won’t be so drunk tomorrow hwen i post but for now, i am gone. I hope this was coherant, i don’t feel like editing, i think the happiest I am is that lester and beckett were put in their place, when you get lucky for a few starts liek lester, he deserves a beating and when you show boat in the 1st inning becaude you escaped a self made jam, you deserve 9 walks and a pummeling, i hate beckett, i couldn’t even begin to get into it but i am glad he was smashed. It has been a massacre so far whoeveer compared it was right, but I expect at least a win tomorrow from you guys and although saying the season is over might be the easiest and most obvious thing to do, it is not, all the odds are against you and the ball is in your court, and although i doubt you make the playoffs, you never know.

I’m a Yankee fan, and I’m not going to antagonize anyone here (or try not to! ;) ) or anything of the sort. But I hope nobody is trying to hide behind injuries. Yes, your team has injuries, and it *****. But the Yankees lost two thirds of our starting outfield, and lost the second baseman for quite awhile. And last year, there was a point in the season where Tim Redding and Darrel May were BOTH in the starting rotation. At the same time. Yikes.

Point is, yes, injuries ****, but lots of teams get injured. Maybe the Red Sox won’t be able to overcome them this year like the Yankees did last year (and have, to this point, overcome the injuries this year). But that’s not something to hide behind. People get hurt…that’s when you call on the farm, whether it’s for players to play on the major league roster, or trades to secure good players. It works as an excuse to a point, but everyone has some injuries somewhere.

I just wanted to point out that losing OF is nothing like losing SP. A bad performance by a SP guarentees a loss most of them time (if a starter goes 5IP, 8ER, chances are that you won’t win…). Meanwhile, if an OF goes 0-4 in a game, the team only loses maybe half a run. My point is, OF are much much easier to replace than SP. That’s a fact proven by baseball throughout the course of history…

Albert, I’m giving the Sox one week to turn it around. Unless the Yankees fade and the Sox rise, I’m probably just going to skip the agony of watching worthless baseball. I think that losing Varitek was a major to the Sox this season also.

Losing Clement, Varitek, Wakefield, Wells for some time, Nixon, and having major busts like Taveras, Seanez and Beckett is what shut us down. No one (not even God) could’ve seen this coming… I don’t think it’s fair to blame Theo for everything yet.

Jamie: Losing a SP pitcher will affect only 20% of the games. Losing a position player will affect 100%. You lost Clement, who was atrocious. and you lost Wakefield for 3 or 4 weeks (6 or 7 starts) who had a sub 500 record (3 or 4 wins). Which means the replacement pitcher can lose only the other can only lose the other 3 or 4. The yankees lost Matsui, Sheff and Cano for an extended period of time in addition to some missed games by Damon, Jeter and Giambi. That is atleast 33% of yankee offense on a daily basis. In a year ARod is not producing as much as he is capable of, that is HUGE. You still have your 1 and 2 pitchers. And it is not like the yankees did not lose any pitching at all. We lost Pavano for the season and Chacon who was very good before the injury. and Small. We also lost a very good middle reliever in Sturtze.

Please, dont even try to tell people the redsox are losing because of the injuries.

There’s some faulty logic going on here. Just because the Yankees overcame their injuries doesn’t mean that the Sox aren’t losing because of theirs.

I don’t know that there’s a way to quantify if losing a starting pitcher is demonstrably better or worse than losing an outfielder (actually, I’m sure there is one – I don’t have the brains to figure it out), but I do think there’s been a ripple effect for the Sox in that their replacement starting pitching can’t go deep and has resulted in a burned out bullpen to boot.

The Yanks deserve a tip of their hat for doing well despite their injuries, but that hardly means that injuries don’t affect teams.

Vik, think about the replacements… replacing position players doesn’t mean a complete loss of production. In fact, Melky isn’t that far off from Matsui. The Sox also lost Varitek, who anchors the pitching staff and produces some offense. I am absolutely telling people that the red sox are losing because of their injuries, because it is true. Wakefield is a legit #3, and losing him means going from a #3 to a #6 (Johnson). That costs many many games. Losing Varitek means having to put up with Lopez’s incompetence, which also costs many games. Losing Nixon is another blow to the Sox. He’s also a OF, just like those that the Yankees lost. Replacing pitchers is a very tough job to do (Ponson proves this, as well as Johnson). Meanwhile, losing OF doesn’t hurt as much (see: Abreu).

lol, “melky isn’t that far off from matsui” yet Pena is supremely WORSE than nixon? Pena has the better bat, nixon was starting to fade to the point where people wished pena would get more playing time, well you all got your wish.

I agree the redsox may be suffering from their injuries, but like i said, you don’t hide behind that you tip your hat to the yankees (also like somebody else said). Comparing injuries is stupid The yankees lost three of their starting pitchers last year, and 4 of them missed time, all besides randy johnson, that was worse than your pitching problems this year, you lost clement who was bad to begin with, wakefield with a losing record and foulke who was fresh off of losing his closer’s role from ineffectiveness. Nixon’s bat was fading and Pena’s was better. Wells had been blown out in his first few starts and even so, all of this just shows the redsox starting staff wasn’t so great to begin with, own up to the lack of moves at the deadline of you want to whine about injuries. You can’t have it both ways.

Yes, we got abreu, after 3 MONTHS of guys like thompson, guile, long, williams and god knows who else tried out in the outfield. That is 3 MONTHS. You bet your *** 300 rbi’s is a huge loss, and we lost pavano, without getting lidle at the deadline our pitching staff would be terrible, that is the difference. Without wang stepping up the same effect would take place. The problem is none of your guys stepped it up. The only significant loss you took was varitek, but guess what, you guys were only a few games against 500 against the AL ALL SEASON anyway, so **** it up. Even his numbers were fading and according to the stats they showed, his loss is only costing the pitchers 1 run per game. When the heart of your lineup is missing, that is more than one run per game, a lot shows up on offense in a game that doesn’t in the box score.

Yes, the sox are losing because of injuries, but that doesn’t mean the yankees suffered less injury, haven’t overcome the same injuries the sox haven’t, last year, and the sox shouldn’t own up to not stepping it up in a time of adversity.

for the record, melky cabrera has about 60 rbi’s less than matsui would in a full season, defensively we aren’t missing anything, but don’t try and say a 21 year old has the bat of matsui

info: I am not saying injuries wont affect teams. They will. But like you said you cant quantify the affect and you cant use injuries as an excuse because they are part of the game. And both teams endured them.
Even by your argument, yanks found a way to overcome their injures and redsox haven’t. Which makes the yanks a better team anyway.

Jamie: Matsui is a 30 hr, 100 rbi guy who is very clutch. Melky (as of this year) is not even close to Matsui. I am not arguing that the redsox suffered because of injuries. But we did too. But we found a way and redsox didn’t. To use injuries as an excuse is apologistic. Like my professor told me in school, “The first step to winning is accepting defeat graciously when you lose”. If you think it was just injuries, will you take the same team next season if they are all healthy? I guess not.

Face it Jamie. Beckett is screwing it up. Clement was no good. Wakefield was average at best. Even Schilling has not been consistent lately. And if the pitchers are going to fold every time Varitek is not playing, what does that tell you abt your pitchers AND backup catchers.

Wakefield saves the bullpen, and Clement is better than Johnson any day. I agree that Beckett is screwing up, but Schill has been very good, and very consistant. He’s the reason we’re still in contention (slightly in contention anyway). Varitek was the heart of the Sox, and losing him cannot be underestimated.

yeah, the ineffectiveness of Taveras, Timlin, and Seanez are a huge part of the reason. Still, the starters haven’t been great either. Just pitching in general has been pretty bad… even with the best defense in the AL.

I believe that the injuries have contributed to at least 5 or 6 loses. That means that without them, we’d be leading the AL East. still, the yanks had their injuries too, so i guess that’s not too realistic. I just don’t think the injuries can be ignored.

guys, its useless to compare injuries based on track records. if matsui never got injured he could be hitting 200 with 6 homers or hitting 400 with 60 homers and wake could be pitching like a cy young canidate. the point is both teams have had injuries, the yankees have been able to overcome theirs.

Clement has one more year to go on his contract. Does anyone still think it’s possible that me might be effective or be traded?

I loved this guy in the first half of 05, and I’m sure you all did too. 10-2 at all-star break. Then he got drilled on the head… can he recover? I know he’s capable of some decent numbers. He’s been good in the past

Yeah, yeah. We have **** for pitching, but you know, someone made a very interesting comment earlier(Jamie, I think? Let me check real quick…why yes, yes it was). A lot of our lack of success has come with Varitek’s injury – we’ve had to deal with a DUMMMMMMBAASSSSS behind the plate in Javy Lopez and poor Dougie has only had to call 2 pitches in Tim Wakefield and he’s now under the pressure of calling many many many different pitches that he was just thrown into. So, I’m willing to fight anyone who says that a lot of our losses haven’t been contributed to his injury. Okay, I’m off my pedestal now. :)

haha nice….NO NO NO you all need to stay positive, everytime u get depressed the sox win to give u hope, so everyone come into this game thinking huge win, so the redsox can fail u please. My second favorite team is the marlins

We couldn’t have won the WS without D-Lowe, or without Mueller (game 4 still brings me enormous joy lol). I think Lowe would’ve performed pretty well for the Sox, with their new and much, much improved defense. Brad Penny is the Dodgers’ ace though; his stuff is dominating… fastball in the high 90’s. I wonder when he becomes a free agent?

Ok I was just thinking, there are so many good starters this offseason, Zito and Schmidt to name a couple. There’s also some Japanese guy who has a gyroball and a mid-90’s fastball that’s dominant. Since Zito is going to NY (Mets or Yankees), I was just wondering what Theo’s going to do. Wakefield might retire with a bad back, Wells is gone for sure, Clement is pretty much useless, and Schill won’t be here after the 07 season. Theo’s going to need to sign at least 2 solid starters, and Schmidt is old, so signing him would “be against club policy”. Our farm has already been used (Hansen, Delcarmen, Paps, Lester are already in the big leagues), and last I heard, Daniel Bard has not been signed (we’ve got until the 23rd of this month to sign him, so I don’t think we’ll be getting him). We can maybe trade for a 3rd starter, but we need to sign someone real good to pitch alongside Schill. Of course, if Beckett becomes the ace that he’s supposed to be, things become alot easier, but thus far, he’s been a 5th starter.

What can Theo do? He can’t really trade for a starter since all the clubs will be asking for the likes of Pedroia and Lester, and if Theo trades them away he’ll be on the butt end of every hyporcite joke in the next decade in Boston, so…

What’s he going to do? All of a sudden, I don’t want to be a GM any more…

lol i live in florida, marlins games are a lot of fun, they are very young and pesky….of course three years from now when they are inevitably on another ws run, i will hate them, this just proves nobody can even come close to the yankees..The japanese guy would be a good fit but you guys seem to hate asians…besides he is going to seattle or NY, zito ny LA or NY, schmidt, i’m not sure, yeah i don’t know who the sox will go after

Daniel Bard is demanding a deal similar to that of Hansen. SCOTT BORAS is his agent, so…

Personally, I regard Boras as a top-5 enemy for the Sox.

1) Steinbrenner

2) Cashman

3) Lady Luck

4) Boras

5) Yankee Players.

Jen, not signing Bard would have put a 1st round pick to waste, something that Theo is not about to let happen. I just hope they strike a deal soon… seriously, I really hate Boras. He cost us Damon, and now might steal from us a pitcher with amazing potential.

John Henry is rich – he can probably compete against Steinbrenner in a $ war if he wanted to… Theo sees it as stupid, and doesn’t want to “waste” money. That’s why he’s trying so hard to build a farm.

Still, at the end of the day, you need Veterans. Theo knows that. He’ll probably sign Schmidt to a 2-yr deal and get another pitcher or two to fill in the blanks of our pitching staff. I just hope he doesn’t screw us with another Clement signing… NO MORE NL! PLEASE!!

I would think schmidt and mussina are the top choices for the sox, whereas the asian guy, mussina and zito are probably top choices for the yankees, anything else is going to be random or developed later

Jamie: If Schmidt agrees to a 2 yr deal, the yankees will have him. The problem is these guys dont sign that kind of deals anymore. If you want a good player, you have to give him a player friendly deal. Thats what screws up GMs.

Where the heck are all the posts? We’re pounding Mussina and end up with only 2. I think Lowell, Pena, or Lopez has hit into a double play to kill every rally in the last month. Just our luck with the rain… it better stop!

im sorry to sound so negative but unless we get extremly hot im septemeber (like 23 of 25, which i dont see happening)) its time to start thinking about next year. its not that we’re losing, its how we’re losing. like today, once mirabelli grounded out i knew it was over cause our bullpen *****. (you cannot blame papelbon for blowing the save. once again tito’s brillient managing of the bullpen cost us a game.)

i don’t just blame papelbon, i blame every single rookie u have….if youk bunts better the game is over on the passed ball, hansen lost it, papelbon blew it, this is his 6th bs, u can’t keep creating excuses or passes for when he does poorly, 1 era or not. His last 10 appearences his era is 2.77 and notice what they said today? Papelbon wasn’t feeling atf ull strength all this time, his arm felt like it was dragging and his mechanics were all off, hmm but he’s not tired, yeah right. That is straight out of papelbon’s mouth too. Delcarmen didn’t blow it today but he certainly hasn’t been a savior. this is the first time i will admit, francona has issues….what is wrong with that man?

The Red Sox have been playing like ****. You Boston fans can say what you want about The Yankees. It just makes you all sound like the sore losers you are. Get a grip! I really doubt The Red Sox will much more this season. I think The Yankees have taken from them all the dignity and hope they had left. Yankees fan “Believe” too. We just believe in something real!

Well I will say this; all our rookies will have a full season of experience under them next season. Couple that with the off-season conditioning and Spring Training to iron out and kinks, I’d say they should be doing quite well next season.

But that’s quite a large hope.

Crushthesox, please shut up and don’t generalize; I’ve never been a sore loser and don’t plan on being one either. Just because I’m Red Sox fan doesn’t make me a sore loser. Same applies to the average Yankees fan; one can say you’ve hopped onto the winning bandwagon (and many have), but most aren’t bandwagon fans just like most Red Sox fans aren’t sore losers.

Bottom line, the Yankees have been playing REALLY REALLY well and the Red Sox haven’t. No excuses.

I am not trying to put down The Red Sox. There have been a lot of games in which The Sox have been a huge challenge or upset for The Yankees. I respect the Red Sox as they are a good team. I have lived in NY all my life and have always rooted for The Yankees. However, I have family in Boston who are Red Sox fans and they are ridiculously sore losers. Not to mention, there have been times when I have literally been harassed in Boston for wearing a Yankees hat. The worse time was when a man came up to my son(who was 4 at the time and started negatively commenting on his Yankees hat. So I am sorry if I offended you. I also apologize for making that generalization. I have just had some really bad experiences with Boston fans. Also, I see a lot of Boston fans boo their own team and players when they begin to lose or make mistakes. But you are right, I shouldn’t generalize. The fact that you have friends that are Yankees fans, says a lot for you!!

Well my apologies for sounding psycho (it is late here and the insomnia isn’t helping =P ).

I think both Yankees and BoSox fans (some not all) are guilty of booing their own team/players. Case in point: A-Rod.

About fans who were jerks to your son, well I’m sad that I have to consider them fellow Red Sox fans, but that’s life. I’ve had a similar thing happen to me at JFK picking up my dad; by a parking lot attendant no less! So I guess we’re both in the same boat with anger/bitterness speaking more then sense (at least it seemed for me).

Anyway, back to my MVP bit; I’m gonna attempt to take a break. I’ve simulated some games, and this point I reached the All-Star Break in the season. So I think it’s time I take a break as well and attempt to take a nap.

I told myself to hold off on posting until something positive happened because I was tired of all the negativity, but since it doesn’t look like anything good is going to happen for quite a while, I’m going to vent.
Josh Beckett is not a good pitcher. He has potential, but so did Jason Johnson when he came here with his sinker and out great infield. Beckett might have had a big stomach in the 2003 World Series, but he can’t handle a big game at all. Too many walks, too many pitches, getting behind in the count and then serving up meatballs on 3-1 and 2-0. He is an immature pitcher that has been the biggest dissapointment of the season. Every game we hear him say “I was terrible, unacceptable, blah, blah, blah” Well, stop talking about how bad you are and do something about it.

Jon Lester has been figured out by the rest of MLB. Anytime you have someone that takes only 5 innings to throw 100 pitches it’s not good. Maybe he will blossom with this experience, but his decline over the past month is of epic proportions. He is very difficult to watch. He doesn’t like 1,2,3 innings and is getting lit up every tme out.

Bullpen-terrible. No one is dependable and they are way overworked due to the terrible starting pitching.

Francona-I’m done bashing him because he basically should bash himself after last night. I mean, he was interviewed on ESPN saying he hoped Schilling pitched 7 and Paps could go 2. Then it happened. So what does the genius do? He brings in a severely struggling Timlin. Jesus Christ, the exact scenario you told the whole country you were hoping for just happened and you put in a guy that got tourched on Friday night?? What an idiot.

Then, you wind up having the kid pitch his two innings anyway. Just another game in which Francona does everything possible to help the Sox lose.

Then there’s Theo. It sounds like some folks here don’t mind that he gave up on this season. I mean, as long as we are going to be good in 2008, right? No need to improve our club at the break because we don’t want to “divert from the plan” The plan isn’t working Theo. In case you haven’t noticed, out pitching ****** and while you might think it was smart, the rest of the country, baseball writers of America, every team in baseball and majority of fans think it was a terrible move.

Coco, great addition. The guy is absolutely terrible at the plate and quite possibly the worst hitter with men on base in the league. Oh yeah, he can’t hit leadoff either. Besides Coco, the lineup is real good, but without pitching it doesn’t matter.

A lot of us said in 2004 that the next couple of seasons would be acceptable if things didn’t go quite right, but the lack of improvement has been very disconcerting. From World Series, to being swept by the White Sox, to not making the playoffs. Is this the “Plan” we are waiting on????

Thanks for providing fans in one of the top 3 sports markets in the country with a team that is 2 games over .500 vs. the American League.

Great plan Theo. While you’re at it, go ahead and sign Tavarez to a 3 year extension. I’m sure he has a good season in him somewhere in the next 3 years.

The Sox are 6 hours away from being swept from the New York Yankees in our own ballpark. Is there anything more embarrasing for a professional team than being swept by your rival at home?

If I knew the team was going to give up in mid-August, I would have too. Thanks for showing some heart and determination.

1) Yes, the WBC absolutely affected Timlin – the guy is 40 years old, for Pete’s sake! I can’t believe he was allowed to pitch… Varitek didn’t need more wearing on his knees, especially before he was ready…

2)when the FO doesn’t try to improve the team, and your key players go down with injury, it can’t be good news for the team…

Francona using Timlin when Papelbon could go 2 innings easily was a grave mistake. I don’t see the rationale behind it; Timlin had been terrible as of late, and Papelbon was very well rested. That mistake cost us the game, in my opinion…

I went to bed at around 11, fully expecting a win. Instead, I woke up in horror to see an 8-5 score. 5.5 games behind now, hope is slipping away really fast. Unless the Sox go on another huge winning streak, consider the season over.

Sure, not making a move would have an effect on the players themselves. When you are playing under .500 ball since the break and the Yankees are gaining ground on you, as a player you would think that the FO would make some improvements to help hold off the competition. So when Theo basically says, “Tough it out because I want to win in 2008 and not worry about right now” the team was probably a little deflated.

Great point jamie. How often does a team have the 2 best run producers in the major leagues??? Uh, let me think, NEVER!!! A little pitching help would have been nice. But at least in 2008 we will have the arms. But where will the bats be??? Gone.

Hi. Another Newbie to the blog. I have enjoyed reading the postings (at least reading some of the hundreds)

Even allowing for the DL the Sox seem to be playing like a team that has mentally lost the League. Perhaps they, like us, had got used to seeing a lead at the top of the board and, like us, the team is just ‘down’ at facing the uphill struggle. Perhaps a change of team dynamic would breathe a new life into old bats and a tired bullpen (?) I guess this could be through new blood (get the cheque book out Theo), getting Tek, Wake and Trot back off the DL, or shifting round the rotation and giving Pap a starting spot. Perhaps all three need to happen. After all, it is pretty much do or die territory now and giving Pap a starting spot would, if nothing else, give him some 5+ innings experience this season ready for next year.

Does any of this make sense or is it too much to expect an Englishman to understand baseball (we’re more used to two innings in five days of cricket than nine innings in three hours :-) )?

Anyway, Boomer, time to save a sweep that the Evil Empire will not let the Nation forget. No pressure!

The problem with moving Papelbon to the starting rotation is he’s the only guy you can lean on in the bullpen. You can’t expect the starters to go 8 every night, and the last “closer by committee” that sat in Boston really made a mark (or left a mark, anyway) on managers all across baseball.

The time to break out the checkbook (note Americanized spelling! We’re too lazy for your silly Q’s) was July 30th, but on July 30th the Red Sox were only in a mild slump. Theo gambled – and made out ok up until this weekend, to be honest. Up until this 5 game set, the Yanks couldn’t put away the Sox any more than the Sox could put away the Yanks during the first half.

If you really look at what happened, this weekend started with both teams seperated by 1.5 games. That’s it. Then you had one woeful turn of the rotation in the middle of a packed schedule highlighted by a 5-game set with the Yankees – including a doubleheader. It’s a situation that highlights the Red Sox weakness – double bold, underlined.

Now, be honest. If Theo messed up at the deadline (and I think he did), it was because he didn’t look at the schedule, really peer intently at this particular stretch, and say to himself, “hmmm….” But then, all of you second-guessing him, I guarantee that when you were yelling, “We need bullpen help!” none of you followed it up with “specifically because we’re going to have a long stretch of games with an unusually long series against the team we’re battling for the pennant – which just happens to be a team that eats up pitch counts and feasts on bullpens – and we have to play a day-night against them.”

The rationale was far simpler (“Our bullpen is shaky!”), but that also means the gamble was far more acceptable.

And, finally, come on. Even with this roster as-is, no one – NO ONE – expected this kind of one-sidedness. This isn’t a situation you could have planned for.

Just being a voice of reason. Mind you, I’m enjoying it immensely. :) Been a Yankees fan for 20 of my 26 years, now.

Wow. I can’t believe I have been witness to the biggest BoSox beat down in 30-something years. As a Yankee fan, I knew the game against Schilling would be the toughest, but really, how bout is Boston’s pen? Disgraceful if you ask me. Even wonder boy Papelbon couldn’t get it done. It’s time to start worrying Red Sox Nation, Yankees Universe is taking over.

I’m back after spending the weekend at Disney doing a travel feature. Didn’t expect four losses in three days. That legend of wishing on a star and you’re wish coming true is a load of **** (haha).

This is the most aggravated I have felt with the Red Sox – ever. And I have followed them very closely since I was 7, and I am now 38.

I read an article in the USA Today last week where Eric Chavez was interviewed about the A’s second-half hot streaks the past 6 or 7 seasons. He gave comments about each year. When he was asked about one of the seasons – I think it was 2 or 3 years ago, when they didn’t make the playoffs – he said he was glad they didn’t reach the post-season because they would’ve gotten smoked. I think they finished 88-74 that year.

I bring that up because that is how I am feeling right now. If the Sox continue to play this way, of course they won’t make the post-season. They will be fortunate to finish ahead of the Blue Jays. After seeing the bullpen and starting rotation in this series, I am doubting whether they could do anything if they somehow made it to the playoffs.

I have every confidence that Epstein will fill the holes in the off-season. I don’t expect that Crisp and Lowell will be back. Epstein will likely make a deal for a big bat to accompany Big Papi and Manny. I see Pena and Hinske platooning in right. I see You moving to third and a bigger run producer brought in to play first. I only see Schilling, Wakefield and Papelbon as sure things in the rotation next season. Though I think they should give him another season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they dealt Beckett to an NL team. I see Delcarmen returning to the bullpen, but as for everyone else, they will be released, and guys like Hansen cold get traded in a package for a big name center fielder or first baseman. Pedroia will be plugged into second base.

Anyway, as a longtime devoted fan, I would like to see the Sox recover. I just think this weekend shoed they have too many holes.

Our main solace is that the Yankees have holes, too, and with their subpar pitching, it is unlikely they will advance past the ALDS. I see the White Sox or Tigers representing the AL in the World Series and winning it all.

As for the Red Sox, Epstein is a die-hard fan just like most of us. The GM post is not just a job to him. He has loved the Sox all his life. With the payroll flexibility they will have in the off-season by getting rid of guys like Wells, Nixon and Loretta and plugging in Pedroia at second with guys like Youkilis, Pena and Hinske, who are cost-effective, they will have the money to go out of solidify their rotation, bullpen and lack of production in center field.

I will remain, as I always do, optimistic thet can turn things around this year. I know baseball well enough to expect the unexpected. Yet, as of right now, I would rather the Sox don’t make the playoffs and exit in the first round. I only want the Sox – or any of my teams (Celtics and Steelers included) – reach the playoffs if they have a legitimate chance to win it all, and the way the Sox are right now, they don’t.

Sorry about the excessive use of “Q” and “U”. I guess it saves wear on the keyboard though!

Obviously, it would be great to see them finding something and steamrollering to the playoffs but, perhaps, only in the Disney version.

Second best would be to see them finding some form in the last 20 games and finish with some pride and a happier fan base but not in the playoffs. I don’t fancy smoked sox this autumn (sorry, Fall :-) )

Do you think the best way to watch the game tonight will be with hands over eyes and an occassional peep through the fingers? Wells the Exorcist???

I am sure you wouldn’t want the Sox to make the playoffs this year because of their inevitable early departure. Right. Uh-huh. Sure. Do Red Sox fans really believe that ****? But hey, 2008 is not far off.

Vince and Vik, and other Yankee bloggers here: My RedSox cap is off to y’all. The Yankees did at every turn what we couldn’t.Take advantage of a break; turn a single into a double, steal a base, what ever it took. I think that everyone here knows that I’m the optimistic cheerleader, and the very positive attitude RedSox fan. There was almost nothing about this weekend (extended) to react positively to. The exceptions to this being that Schilling pitched really good last night and David did really well today. The bull pen, Papelbon included let them down, and though some would say Francona did as well… he went with what they (upper management) provided for him. The bull pen looked terribly sorry, I know that Jon-Bon only gave up 1 last night, and he worked out of the 0 outs situation, he was the pitcher of record and the rest of the bull pen let him down.
Yankee fans, your team did an exemplary (sp) job.

… All I can say is in September watch out. Good job Yankee’s. was it like playing Pawtucket??

I have to disagree with the statement that Boston has the two best run producers. Maybe last season but that’s changed! The Yankees have a lot of power behind their swing!I think that was evident in the 5 game sweep. However, as a Yankees fan, I never count the Red Sox out until they are out. I love my bombers but it’s not over yet. We have a long way to go and although I really believe we can take it all the way this year, You never know what the Red Sox will do! However, I will agree with what Anthony said previously: Watch Out what’s left of Red Sox Nation! The Bombers are officially a big threat!!

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